blanchard



visera W. BLANCHARD, or BRIDPoRT, VERMONT.

Letters Patent No.' 96,871, dated November 16, 1869.

INIPROVEMENT IN' PRESER'VING- FRUITS, MEATS, .AND OTHER SUBSTANCES TheSchedule referred to inA these Letters .Patent animalng part; of thesame.

To all whom Iit may concern.-

Be it' known that I, VIRGIL W. BLANCHARD, of the town of Bridport, inthe county of Addison, and State of Vermont, have inventedicertain newand usefnl Improvements in the Mode of Preserving Fruit, Meat, and othersubstances; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the let-ters of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification, and in which- Figurel 1 represents alongitudinal section of my device for preserving fruit, &c., and- Figure2, a side elevation of the stopper. v

Similar lett-ers indicate like parts in .both igures.`

This invention consists in an improved mode of preserving fruit, meat,and other .substances from the oxidizing etlccts ot' the atmosphere, byenclosing the same in an air-tight vessel, into which there isintroduced a chemical agent whose affinity for oxygen is so great as toentirely `removeit from the air-contained in said vessel, leaving thematerial to be preserved in a bath of almost pure nitrogen-gas.

',Io enable others skilled in the art to which my invent-ion appertains,to make and use the same, I will now describe its construction andoperation.

I n the accompanying drawings- A represents a vessel o r jar for holdingthe substance to be preserved. This may be ot' any desirable size orshape.

B represents a cover, provided with the rubber packing() for closing themouth ofthe vessel A, and making an' air-tight joint.

1) represents a rim, perforated with holes att-ached to the undersurface ofthe cover B, and provided'with the 'stud E.

F represents a cup sliding over the rim I), and secured thereon by meansof a right-angled slot cut in itsupper margin, and the stud E.

G represents a sponge or vany other suitable packing, occupying the cupF.

H represents a bottle containing a specimen of pyrogallic acid.

I represents a bottle containing a specimen of liquor potassa. J-

K is a bottle containing a specimen of an alkaline soiutionoilpyrogallic acid, formedby mixing certain proportions of water andliquor potassa with pyrogallic acid.

In the practical operation of this nventibn, the substance to bepreserved is put inte the vessel A. Then, for every cubic inch of airthat the vessel Al may contain after the substance or liquid to bepreserved is introduced, from one to three grains of pyrogallic acidshould be introduced in the cup F, and sufficient w'ater added todissolve it. Then a snliicient quantity of liquor potassa should beadded t0 `the solution, to ren-v der it alkaline, when the sponge Gshould be introduced into the cup F, and the latter secured to the rimD. Then the cover Bshouldbe applied tothe mouth ofthe vessel A,closingit air-tight.

By means of the sponge G, the alkaline solution of pyrogallic acid is`brought into contact with th'e oxygen contained in the air in the cup F,removing it therefrom by its chemical affinity for the same.

. The oxygen contained in the air outside ot' the cup F, in the vesselA, passing into the cup t-hrongh the -perlbrations in the cup F in thevessel-A, passing into the cup thmngh the perforationsin the rim D, inobedience to the elemental law ot'difi'usion of thegases, be-

comes absorbed in a similar manner, until the oxygen is entirely removedfrom the interior ot' the vessel A.

-It' the substance is to be preserved for a great length ot' time, it iseconomical to add a sulicient quantity of pyrogallic acid to the cup Fnot only to remove the oxygen from the air contained in the vessel A,but to deoxidze any air that i-:iight enter the saine in conse# quenceof leakage. It will be seen that the contents of the cup F are securedfrom passing into the vessel A by heilig held in the sponge G. j

.By the meansdescrbed, it will be seen that fruit, meat-,andother-substances may be preserved from t-he oxidizing effects of theatmosphere for a greater or less length ot' time, without resorting tothe injurious mode ot' applying heat or any other means that injurestheir tiavor or texture.

Having thus fully described' my invent-ion,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The use of an alkaline solution of pyrogallic acid, substantially' asand for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination ot' the cover B, elastic packing C, movable cup F,and sponge G, or their equivalents, substantially as .and for thepnrpose'described.

3. The combination ot'- the vessel A, cover B, elastic packing O, cup F,sponge G, and the alkaline solution ot' pyrogallic acid crit-sequivalent, substantially as and for the purpose set iorth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own,

. I aiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

VlRGIL W. BLANCHARD. Witnesses:

N. S. BENNETT,

D. H. BENNETT.

